The Best Winter Cocktails

9

3/9

The East End

Paul Liebrandt is one of the most highly praised chefs working today. The recipient of two Michelin stars, Liebrandt was born in Zimbabwe and raised in England. His creative and daring style is the result of his world travels. He has had his hand in the opening of several acclaimed restaurants in New York City, his newest being The Elm in Brooklyn. The Elm's menu is as eclectic as the man himself, concentrating on Liebrandt's modern takes on classic French fare.

The inspiration behind the cocktail came to Swet when he was doing research for a fall gin drink. "I started thinking about a dry London-style gin, but I wanted to take away some of the sharpness of the booze," says Swet. "So I added some Pusser's British naval-strength rum." Since there is actually a British naval yard in the East End of London, the name just made sense to Swet. "I added the sriracha bitters because, in London's East End, there is a very large Southeast Asian community. We ended up with a very complex, yet smooth cocktail with a little bite from the sriracha."